But it’s not altogether wrong to be a sheep. Did you ever notice that immediately upon being granted our freedom from Egypt, the Jewish people accepted upon themselves the yoke of a new master – Hashem? “For He is our G-d and we are… His sheep.” (Tehillim 95) Why did we do that? Why would a free nation willingly submit to a new master, especially one as demanding as Hashem? The answer is, because we recognized the great benefits of being the sheep of such a loving Shepard. Would you not agree to obediently follow someone who wants to bring you up the highest peak?
Now we can understand why the mazal of Nissan is a sheep. Nissan is the month in which Yisrael is separated and chosen as a distinct nation from the other nations. But the quality which will set us apart is what type of sheep we choose to be. Will we be like the Egyptian sheep and obey the whims of our baser instincts, or will we be the sheep of the Almighty as we fight our natural tendencies to serve the Higher Power? It’s not easy to choose the latter. The Vilna Gaon writes that the covenant at Mt. Sinai consisted of each party cutting something from themselves to give it to the other party. Hashem (k’vayachol) gave of Himself by giving the Torah and the Jews gave of themselves by giving up the natural human desire to be independent. It’s not easy to submit.
Now let’s present the denouement. What is it about Nissan that lends itself to miracles? The Netziv writes, “If [the Jewish people] act toward Heaven merely within their nature, then [Hashem] will watch them with a Providence that is within nature. But if [Yisrael] serves Hashem by going above and beyond their nature, then Hashem will respond with a Providence similarly above nature.” (Haamek Davar, Yisro 19:6) What this means is that Hashem willingly contravenes nature for us, but only if we similarly contravene our nature for Him. The redemption from Egypt was only possible if the self-serving egotistical sheep was slaughtered. We can be worthy of miracles if only we would be courageous enough to stand up to ourselves and do what’s right, not just what we feel like doing. This is also the way we can bring the final redemption. Hashem is ready and able to bring those supernatural miracles which will free us from this long galus. But Hashem will only act in such a way if we too go against our self-centered nature to serve Him.
Yes, it is difficult. The human tendency is to resist any attempts that others make to control us. We naturally want to be independent. Let’s use Nissan as the impetus to become Hashem’s sheep, and in that merit may we indeed see the final redemption this month. Amen.